Pressure pulp washer with pivoted baffle

In a pressure pulp washer with a vat, a rotatable cylinder in the vat, a pulp inlet for feeding pulp slurry into the vat, means for maintaining a pressure inside the rotatable cylinder less than the pressure outside said cylinder to begin forming a pulp mat on the rotatable cylinder thereby providing a forming zone, and means for removing the pulp mat from the rotatable cylinder, the improvement comprising:

• a longitudinal baffle spaced from the rotatable cylinder, the baffle having a first pivot pivotally connecting the baffle to the vat at a point in the forming zone, said baffle also having a second pivot downstream from the first pivot and actuating means for applying an actuating force aginst the radial outside surface of the baffle, at a predetermined circumferential point downstream from the second pivot thereby providing a compaction zone downstream from the second pivot, said actuating means being positioned so that the baffle will automatically adjust in response to changes in thickness of the mat to provide the correct convergence angle.